I live in central Minnesota and am a to MG42's. I picked up a M-53 parts kit and would like to make a semi, .308. Am having a difficult time finding a .308 barrel found an 8mm and squirreled it away in case I have to stick with 8mm.

Anyway, for now I am just doing a lot of reading and looking at how to make the modifications to make this a legal build. Any help/pointers/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Woody, This is the place for information on building a semi M53. Look at the build section, there are several posts from previous builds that offer great tutorials. Read them over carefully, several times, to get a good idea as to what's involved. John Baum's books are invaluable for the correct descriptions and terminology used when questions need to be asked. There are many well thought of builders here who are willing to help out a new comer, but you need to use the correct names for the parts involved so everyone can understand what you are asking for. RTG parts is a great resource for the .308 conversion parts you'll need if you want to go that route, as none of the M53 components like feed tray, flash hider and booster or barrel bushing from the 8mm will work with .308. Good Luck on your build, and post updates so we can follow along.

I've been shooting and motorcycling longer than I can remember...love to do them both. Dad and I used to shoot IPSC with a local Sheriff department once a week when I was in the 14 to 18 year age. That got me hooked. Then we got into shooting steel at the gravel pit, and lately long range stuff.

Somewhere along the line my Dad got into WWII stuff and ended up with a project...a German MG42 that was torched. He spend hours over the course of a few years working on the re-weld and converting to, SA eventually firing it but had feed issues. He then handed it off to me to look at. I smoothed it out a bit, made a couple of mods thanks to the folks here, and got it to run pretty good but still have a couple of quirks to work out before finishing it off. It's such and awesome machine and a great piece of history! I look forward to the day my Dad and I can go run a few belts through her.

Hi all! I just got my login confirmed here! I've read many threads on here, but had never registered until now! I'm a machinist during the day and a paramedic by night. Hopefully some of my machining experience can at least help some of you out there. I'm looking to contribute as much as gather information about one of the best weapon platforms ever created. I love firearms in general and love to soak in as much firearms knowledge as humanly possible!

Now that that's out of the way, here's the lowdown on my current project.

I bought a m53 kit about a year ago because I've built AK's, AR's, stens....all kinds of magazine fed weapons, but never a belt-fed. I also think that 1919s are too common and look too easy(I wanted a challenge, and I got one with the m53/42). I would love to build a PKM as well, but the kits are outrageously expensive.

Anyway, I have bought a wiselite gen2 m53 receiver. I know a lot of people do not like these receivers because of their qc issues and such. Honestly, being a first time 53/42 builder, to me it looks very nice. Of course some fitting is involved, but it looks very well machined and welded.(I also have a brp rear halves and m53 shroud that came with the kit that is welded crooked at the front section. What can I say, I'm a machinist, not a welder.)

I have installed some of the internal parts, machined my own bolt extension, and made sure the bolt glides nice and smooth down the rails. I'm having some issues with it. But that's why I joined, to get the best knowledge from the best folks

I know it was long winded, but that's my story fellas, I'm looking forward to getting to meet you all!

Welcome to the MG42 Fountain of Knowledge. It's all here!The Wiselite is a nice receiver. It's already factory built...and straight. The little extra length it has allows the bolt to travel further to soften the recoil. It does use some parts that are unique to it, different from the MG42-M53 kits. Good luck in your builds....Phil

Hello All, This is my first post. I've lurked on this site in the past and I finally got ahold of a M53 parts kit and am looking forward to learning all I can from everyone on this site to teach me how to build this monster. I hope to learn a lot from you all and one day post pictures of my build and share my triumphs and pitfalls of taking on a project like this with my limited knowledge of welding and such. I hope I can count on you guys and gals. Thanks.

My advice is to read, read read, then read some more. Get a set of manuals from John here. They cover the FA, but much of the info from the German designers of this gun will still apply even in semi and you will get a much better understanding of parts names, their function and how it works. This way when you post questions we will know what you are referring to.

Then go to the BRP website, they have a very good free-download "semi-auto" manual which explains the differences and how it works such as (the loading sequence for a S/A is different for example)...so between both Johns manuals (and there are several good ones) and the BRP S/A manual, your knowledge will increase greatly on this platform.

The 'S/A' MG42/53/3 should be thought of as a different animal, as its operation is altered greatly. But if you follow the advise of those who have converted them you can build one that can run quite reliably in semi auto.

Start with manuals.

Then go back through all the stickies here, along with the thousands of good posts here, I've spent many nights reading all the hundreds of pages and posts here from over the years and learned a lot...its how many of us got started.

Once you begin, take it slow and don't be afraid to ask questions and posts pics here, there are several good builders here that will walk you through it one step at a time. When folks skip these important steps (reading) they can get very frustrated as we have seen here sometimes...but when built correctly this platform build in S/A can be the most rewarding build ever..which is why I keep building them (I'm on #5)...lol.

I compare this platform rebuilding to a car's engine rebuilding (the closest thing a man can have to giving birth...lol) when it fires to life for the first time. But we all know that it will still need timing adjustment, carb adjustment, fine tuning etc...guns like these are no different if expected to run reliably. The "tuning phase" as I call it is very important as well. Well discuss that more later when need be.

Hey all, just starting out planning my first build, I hope to pick up a lot of great advice from you guys and with any luck figure out all mysteries, as a noob, of the differences between the mg42 and mg3 clone I'd like to build and get everything sorted towards my new adventure!